


Another Way to Defy God

by dreamonlosers



Category: The Last of Us
Genre: Awkward Flirting, F/M, Humor, just apocalypse things
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-04
Updated: 2017-03-04
Packaged: 2018-09-28 08:39:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10081763
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamonlosers/pseuds/dreamonlosers
Summary: Joel knew that beyond the quarantine zones were men hungry for power, tools, anything that spelled ‘survival’ with a capital ‘S’. But what he didn’t expect was the persistent continuity of man’s raw, natural greed being performed in the most American way—big business unaffected by government regulations. It was a black market with no penalties.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I love playing with the apocalypse, really, so this was super fun for me to write. Like, seriously, the traditional capitalistic ways wouldn't die with the rest of the world.
> 
> Also Joel gets hit on and he's like uuhhhhhhhhhhhh nOPE

Boston likely wasn't the best choice in area to quarantine the living; it was a big city with a crime rate higher than the national average, influenced by the surrounding culture, and although the end of the world would certainly make some think that it could stifle the amount of criminal activity, it still festered amongst the people. Tess liked to describe it as ‘cabin fever’ and often had the itch for it herself.

Outside of the city, however, Joel couldn’t decide if things were better or worse. There were fewer people to deal with, but the ones they did come upon were hostile and almost always violent. Not to mention the infected roaming the wasteland, but he would dare say that they were the least of his worries when it came to nearly deserted towns and neighborhoods—anyone, alive and armed, could jump the corner at any point in time. But he could retaliate without being worried over prosecution in the city. Really, it was a game of how much he could contradict his last thought.

Not that prosecution was a big deal, anyways—FEDRA prisons were, really, unsurprisingly lackluster. Joel had found his way out of them on more than one occasion and more often than not, they didn’t bother to search for anyone unless they were affiliated with Fireflies. 

Joel knew that beyond the quarantine zones were men hungry for power, tools, anything that spelled ‘survival’ with a capital ‘S’. But what he didn’t expect was the persistent continuity of man’s raw, natural greed being performed in the most American way—big business unaffected by government regulations. It was a black market with no penalties.

Ellie, of course, didn’t understand the humored snort Joel would do whenever they came upon an old fast food joint fashioned into a supply shop, identical to the ones they had come upon many miles back. To him, it was a novelty restaurant turned into a not-so-novelty weapon store, a fitting turn with the rest of the apocalypse. He imagined a G.I. Joe action figure to come with a Beretta Pico he would get for Ellie, like the toys found in the traditional kids’ meals. 

It was in Illinois did the two find another _Big Daddy’s Pop Shop_ , one of the more frequent supply chains in the eastern part of what was once America. The building had been reconstructed and now adorned low lights strung amongst the bushes, but not a single sound came from within. To keep the runners and clickers from congregating, they had said. Really, it was interesting that they didn’t notice the lights, or smell the mass of survivors. Infections did a lot to the living, but they didn’t do much to make them better predators.

Someone—not Big Daddy, they had yet to meet him—managed the store, but some proceedings went to their ‘headquarters’ in a state they couldn’t disclose (safety, of course). ‘Proceedings’ included cans of food, water, ammo, and medicine that he could bargain with, given that the cashier was a somewhat reasonable person. Some would even accept tin, pennies, nickels—anything metal, but most didn’t. Only the really crafty ones did.

The woman at the desk looked bored, sullen, even. One side of her head had been shaved and the tattoos on her arms were rushed and unfinished, like many rogue ones in the wastelands. She had to be ten years younger than Joel, if not more, and certainly not belonging in a washed-up supply shack like Big Daddy’s—too clean, too pretty compared to most others. Women like her were usually found hanging around shoddy brothels, doing what they had to do just to survive another day. Wherever they ended up, it was just another step towards making sure they would stay alive. But he wondered how much of it was actually living and not just taking another breath. 

“Gimme some of that food there, you can have these.” The woman standing at the old desk gestured to a pair of spiked gloves, big enough to fit over his forearms. A practical article of armor that he wished he could make himself, but he wasn’t crafty enough for anything beyond guns. “Good for blocking off those damn infected out there, they can’t bite through spikes and leather.”

Joel nodded, admiring the handiwork. It seemed to be a bit worn, but he could always polish it up himself. Flecks of rust clung to the metal and the material had faded some on the other side. “I’ll take’em.”

Ellie, on the other hand, was a bit harder to persuade. She thought that it was a baseless purchase, or an overpriced one, at least. Food probably mattered more to her than it did to Joel—she was still growing, after all, and she already hated having to ration out the food when they were on the road. Losing some more of it wouldn’t make her any happier. They bickered over the backpack Ellie was withholding in hushed voices as if they didn’t want the employee to hear.

But the woman rested her chin on her hand, the arch of her eyebrow and the snarl on her lips turning into an amused expression as the two quarreled. Ellie gave an exasperated sigh before forking over her backpack, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at Joel.

“You’ll thank me later,” Joel told her and rolled his eyes. God, she gave him such a hard time in front of other people. Why did she always have to be such a _teenager_? “You will.”

“When pigs fly, Joel. When pigs fucking fly.” Ellie stuck her tongue out and walked away. Joel had half a mind to tell her to stay put but she was already gone and he had his head busy with the purchasing. She would be fine on her own. 

The woman’s gaze followed Ellie to the tables before snapping back to look at the man in front of her. “Eh, almost done,” he muttered. She just yawned and scanned the seating area, nearly empty save for the lone wolves sitting at the bar. Not a lot of the shops in the chain had areas like these, really—this one did, and she thought that she might as well make the best of it. It wasn’t often that a half-decent guy stumbled into the building, so she might as well make the best of it. Who wouldn’t?

“It’s no problem, honey,” she drawled, her accent an homage to her western roots. “Hell, it’s getting cold out, ain’t it? Stay in for the night—there are tables over there and a couch. The girl looks like she’s already settled in."

Joel looked up from the record book he was signing to see that, indeed, Ellie had settled in the seating area. The young girl had nestled herself in the shitty, broken couch and kicked her feet up, the old comic in her hands close to her face. She looked comfortable and, really, it had been a while since they took a proper break from traveling. Tommy could wait another day—it wasn’t like he was going anywhere. He sure as hell better not. 

“Yeah, thanks,” he said to her. “Guess I’ll set up over there, then, to make sure she doesn’t get into trouble.” He gave a slight laugh, trying to be polite for the first time in about ten years because, for once, she didn’t have a gun pointed at his head and was offering him decent shelter. But it felt strange to talk about Ellie like he had—like she was his kid, and that sure as hell wasn’t the case, that had never had been the deal. 

He stood in front of her. “C’mon, kiddo. _Scootch_ , we can sleep here tonight.” 

Ellie’s eyes grew wide, pleasantly surprised and she hopped over to the other side of the couch. Of course, they were both wary about falling asleep with other people around; there was little chance that thieves weren’t waiting to pounce on them. Hell, maybe even the store clerk wanted to get them off their guard; they had two backpacks, for God’s sake, there ought to be some good shit in there. Anyone would think so, really. Joel made a point to tuck them between his side and the arm of the couch.

“It’ll be okay, Ellie. Go to sleep,” he assured her.

He wasn’t keeping track of how much time passed, but he noted that it took quite a while for Ellie to fall into a light slumber. The past week had left her restless, scared to be unaware of what was going on, and rightfully so. But her chest rose with each breath, her eyelashes fluttered where her eyes were closed and her mouth was slightly agape. She rested her head on the crook of her hand and Joel found himself imitating her position but felt more restless than she must have been. Except, it was taking too long. At some point, he gave up on trying to sleep and shuffled over to the bar, sitting next to another man who had passed out on the counter.

The same woman who had managed the checkout had been working a double shift that night. It wasn’t like many people were trying to apply for jobs if they could help it; she told him that she was probably working alone by now—her coworker left for a drop-off about three weeks prior and he had yet to return, so he probably wasn’t going to return at all. Joel gave her his condolences, or something like that. Not a lot of people cared about that kind of thing anymore, but he wasn’t quite sure how to navigate his conversation with her.

She was holding a wine glass with one hand and a mildly dirty rag in the other one, but she extended it anyways. “The name’s Jane. Can I get you a drink? It’s on the house.”

Joel stared at it, cautious, and then shook it with his own. He usually wasn’t one for meeting new people, but she seemed fairly nice and looked as though she needed some company. And, well, he felt somewhat in debt to her. It was the least he could do.

“Just—just water would be fine,” he told her, looking back to where Ellie was resting. She gave a humored snort and turned to the water cooler. She already knew his name so he watched her pour it into the glass, watching to see if she would try to drug him. A part of him almost turned down the drink completely—the glass could always be lined with crushed pills—but she wouldn’t want to kill him. Not when he could have important knowledge on him, or could just be another helping hand in the franchise. Ellie, too. They were relatively safe. 

He took a sip, keeping an eye on her over the rim of the cup. It was icy cold and refreshing as it chilled his teeth and he had forgotten how much he appreciated water that hadn’t been warmed by the sun. They didn’t even have it back in the Boston QZ; soldiers said it used up electricity that they ‘didn’t have’, which was a load of bullshit, of course. They made it a point to take away as much from the citizens as possible in order to give themselves more power.

The woman named Jane continued to clean the dishes, turning her back to Joel and he couldn’t help but notice the purposeful sway in her hips as she did so. “What’s the deal with you and that girl?” she asked. “Is she your daughter or somethin’?”

Joel shook his head and looked down at the counter. She was the second person to assume that he was Ellie’s father and mention it. “No, no. Just keepin’ an eye on her for someone.”

“That ‘someone’ her mother, then? Your wife?” Jane was persistent, puffing out her chest and tying up the remains of her strawberry blonde hair where it had fallen. She didn’t seem to believe him when he denied being kin with her, and that was a first. He wondered why she was so adamant about them being a family.

“No. I don’t have a wife, just an old…friend.” The glass was refilled and Joel scowled at her, perplexed by how she dared to impose on him so quickly. They had known each other for five goddamn minutes and she was already asking questions that people who had known him for years probably wouldn’t ask. He wasn’t quite yet sure how to tell her to fuck off.

She shrugged and bent over to look for something in the cabinets. Joel took another gulp of water, closing his eyes this time and hoping to stop the sweat forming on his skin. It was the heat of the stuffy building, definitely. But he didn’t expect to be so suddenly affronted by a pair of nearly bare breasts when he put the glass down, nearly dropping it on the wooden surface out of shock and having to stop the water from dribbling down his chin. The cherry red blouse that Jane had been adorning had lost some of its buttons and the upper bit of the cup peeked over the collar—pink lace, maybe a bit too small for her and stained with specks of old blood but she probably didn’t have much of a selection, anyways.

Goddamn, he was too _old_ for this shit. 

“Well, I think she’s mighty cute,” Jane said, looking over his shoulder to where Ellie was fast asleep. Strands of red hair stuck to her cheek and she hadn’t stirred since he had gotten up. He hoped to keep it that way. “And I think it’s great that you’re sticking with her.”

Ah, that was it. Joel knew damn well the angle she was playing at—it wouldn’t be the first time someone complimented his ‘fatherhood’ as a pick-up line. It was probably some biology thing about appealing to motherhood or whatnot. With Sarah, when he was raising her alone, women would come up to him and croon over the little girl in his arms before throwing themselves at him. If he was any younger, he would probably take them up on their many offers, but he was old enough then to dedicate his time to his daughter. It was the best he could give her, after all.

He didn’t know how different this was. It was the same kind of flirting but he sure as hell wasn’t Ellie’s father and she was old enough to take care of herself for a few hours. And he still didn’t want it and it was time to turn her down and practice looking at her face and not the breasts that she was flaunting. She was leaning over the counter, accentuating her curves as they pressed against the surface. Her painted fingernail traced the perimeter of her pouted lips and she stared at him with round baby-blue eyes, expecting him to lean into her and kiss her.

He thought about Tess and how much he missed her. She used to stare at him the same way when they were alone, her milky brown eyes looking playful instead of soft blue ones filled with raw lust. No, it wouldn’t do any good to remember that.

It was hard to ignore how disappointed she looked when he stood up, the stool scraping against the floor. “I think I’m gonna turn in,” he said, placing two cans of food on the counter despite the fact that the drinks she gave him were free. If he was going to turn her down, then it was the least he could do. She smiled at him when he told her goodnight.

“I knew I should’ve gotten you drunk,” she said, huffing out a quiet laugh. He reciprocated her good attitude with a small smile. “You have a goodnight, Joel.”

\--

“Joel, why was that lady giving you such a weird look when we left this morning?” Ellie asked him when they got on the highway. Around dawn was when Ellie was shaken from her slumber so they could get an early start on their day, letting her shuffle to the van they had repurposed for themselves and fall back to sleep in the backseat. But she still managed to notice the little things about the people around her. “It kind of reminded me of a hungry lizard.”

Joel looked at her in the mirror, perplexed. “A hungry what?” 

She never ceased to dumbfound him with her imaginative mind. It wasn’t quite like anything he had heard before. “A hungry _lizard_. It looked like as though she was going to sneak around us and pounce on you when we weren’t looking.”

He shook his head at her analogy. “You’re a weird kid,” he said. “But nothing happened between me and that woman."

Ellie leaned between the two front seats, a mischievous glint in her eyes that only spelled trouble. “Well, I never asked if anything happened between you two. I asked why she was giving you a strange look, but I guess I know now.”

Shit, he did give it away. Sighing, he tried to tune out her teasing. “Ooh, Joel, you almost got some action! How did you mess it up?”

“I didn’t—!” Joel started to say but stopped himself from getting worked up. That would give her too much satisfaction. “I didn’t mess it up, Ellie. Hell, I turned her down, if you must know.” 

She gaped at him, then laughed. “No way! Joel, you turned her down? Why the hell would you do that? She was kinda cute…”

Well, that was strange. But now it was his turn to tease her and point out the awkwardness in the whole conversation. “What, you want me to have sex with her?” He saw her cringe at the explicit phrasing of his question and he chuckled. “Well, y’know…”

“Okay! Okay! That’s enough, you win, _blah blah blah_.” Ellie was quick to stop him before he started and cupped her hands over her ears. “Dammit, Joel.”

A few miles later, the van turned the corner and passed another _Big Daddy’s Pop Shop_. This time, they didn’t stop, but Joel thought about Jane whenever they came across one from then on.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Leave a kudos if you enjoyed :)


End file.
